Not of Blood Part 2
by Guardian of Hope
Summary: Having traveled to the future, Harry and his circle of bards must learn to control their music and their magic as their lives spiral out of control around them. Warnings; Blood, canon typical violence, gore.
1. Chapter 1

I may be overselling the gore, blood, and violence warnings, but I'd rather over warn for them than under warn if that makes sense. While I'm going to be a bit... descriptive in the first two chapters due to the events with which I've chosen to start with, I promise I'll lower it back down to something more in line with the two universes that I'm bringing together.

* * *

Harry ran.

First he'd run from fear and anger, to escape the memory of Shadow lying against the wall after Harry's inadvertent outburst of magic.

Now he ran because he was being chased.

He'd gotten one glimpse of the monster, and struck by its resemblance to a werewolf, he'd run and it had chased. Despite what Hermione called an unfortunate affinity for the Forbidden Forest, Harry was not accustomed to the woods. He tripped, crashed through bushes, and had lost his glasses but found five trees.

Suddenly the ground disappeared and Harry fell, rolling down a steep incline, landing face down in water. He heard something crashing down the slope towards him and he tried to force himself to his feet. A clawed hand hit the small of his back and a second yanked at his shirt. Harry jerked, trying to shove him away, only to freeze as a tearing pain ripped through his side.

 _He bit me!_ Harry thought frantically.

A shout and several rustling thumps caused his attacker to let him go. It jumped over him to attack something else. There was a loud growl, several thumps, and then a shriek of pain.

As the shriek faded, a pair of growls cut through the night as two things landed on either side of Harry. Without his glasses and decent light, Harry could barely make out the two figures that hovered over him, but as he stared at them, he became convinced that they were Chase and Shadow.

The creature snarled at them, and the pair snarled back, both crouching down but not leaving Harry. A fourth snarl cut through the air and then silence fell.

Harry became aware that he was panting from the pain in his side and he started to force himself to stand, groaning as the movement set his wound to throbbing more than it had before.

"Harry!"

Suddenly, Shadow was there, gripping his arm and shoulder.

"Shadow," Harry said.

"I'm here; I'm okay," Shadow said, "are you okay?"

"I think that thing bit me," Harry said as he forced himself to his feet, "and I lost my glasses."

"Shit." That had to be Chase, "He's bitten?"

Shadow tugged at his shirt and spat out a nasty sounding Spanish word.

"Is he all right?" A stranger growled.

"Who are you?" Chase demanded. Harry could just make out that he was standing between Harry, Shadow, and the unknown.

"Derek Hale," the stranger said grudgingly after a long silence.

"I don't know what game you and your Alpha are playing," Chase said.

" _That_ wasn't my Alpha," Hale growled, " _that_ murdered my Alpha."

"Fuck," Chase said.

Shadow muttered a different filthy sounding Spanish phrase.

"Kid, does your mother know you know that?" Hale asked, sounding oddly amused.

"She taught me to say it," Shadow replied.

"Look, I'm Chase, this is Shadow and Harry," Chase said, "we aren't exactly from around here, but we were told there wasn't a Pack?"

"Not really," Hale said reluctantly. "The Pack was murdered six years ago. Do you know who this kid is?"

"I have never seen him before," Chase replied, "but we've only been here a week."

It occurred to Harry that he should say or do something, but between the throbbing in his side and a newly arrived headache, it was all he could do to stay standing.

"I'll take care of him," Hale said, "There are police all over the area if nothing else. You take care of your friend."

"Right," Chase said, "Come on, let's go."

Shadow carefully slid Harry's arm over his shoulder and they began to make their way back up the hill. About half way there, Harry realized that he wasn't exactly walking, but that Shadow had him almost completely on his back.

"I c'n walk," Harry muttered.

"You don't have to," Shadow said, adjusting his grip and lifting Harry off the ground.

"I'm heavy," Harry said.

"It's not a problem," Shadow said, "hush and relax. We don't have that far to go."

"Is he in shock?" Chase asked after a moment.

"I think so," Shadow said. "All he's doing is moaning in pain occasionally."

"Should he be in that much pain?" Chase asked, "I've never seen anyone take the bite."

"It can," Shadow said, "every bite is different. I've seen four of them, one was a rejection. We'll know soon enough if he's rejecting the bite."

"I hope he doesn't reject," Chase muttered.

Harry closed his eyes with a sigh.

A sudden beeping noise made Harry jerk back from Shadow with a yelp, and then he groaned and curled into Shadow's back as pain ripped through his head and sighed anew.

"Back with us?" Chase asked.

Harry shifted slightly and stared at him, trying to think his way through the pain.

"Not entirely then," Chase said, "that's okay. Wendy's driving us back to the house. Let's get you in the car."

Harry tried to move, but found himself lifted gently and placed on the backseat of a car before he closed his eyes again.

/…\\\\\/…\\\\\/…\\\\\

Sirius and Remus were waiting outside the house when they got back. Chase glanced at Shadow, who was looking down at Harry pensively. "Is he okay?" Chase asked as Wendy parked the car.

"He's not rejecting the Bite," Shadow said as he opened the door, "that's the best we've got right now."

"Where did you find him?" Sirius asked.

"Half way across the preserve," Chase said, "help us get him inside."

"What happened?" Remus asked, pulling out his wand.

"He was attacked by an Alpha werewolf," Shadow said as he slid out of the car. "He's in shock and pain, and all we can do is wait for him to come out of it."

"What do you mean, an 'Alpha'?" Sirius demanded, "It's not the full moon."

Remus flicked his wand and Harry floated out of the car, with Chase sliding out behind him.

"It depends on the werewolf," Chase said as he shut the door behind him. "Some are like Remus, and cursed. Others, well, others are like me and Shadow."

"That's not possible," Remus said, "the Curse destroyed…"

"False," Chase said, "although we've allowed that belief to be perpetuated in the UK because of the rampant prejudice. Werewolves are like Vampires really, we can be turned or born."

"Werewolves are sterile," Remus said.

"I was born a werewolf, Remus," Chase said bluntly, "Dad was bitten, but mom was born. The Curse traded fertility for the Bite. Harry was bitten by a werewolf like Shadow and I, except with Alpha powers. He's going to be a werewolf."

"He could still die," Shadow said.

 _"Die?"_ Sirius said.

"There's a twenty-five percent chance," Chase said, "give or take, and he hasn't shown signs of that."

Harry moaned and shook his head, one hand reaching up to rub his forehead roughly.

"This is normal?" Sirius asked, "He sounds like he's in pain."

"Every Bite is different," Shadow said. "Harry's at an ideal age for the Bite, he's healthy, and he's magical, the odds are exceptional that he'll transition."

"Could he not… change," Sirius said.

"No," Shadow said as he headed inside.

"Where are you going?" Sirius demanded.

"Do you want to do this outside? Because there's an Alpha running around attacking people," Chase said. "We'd do better to go inside and wait this out."

"Not to mention the part where I had to haul Harry out of the Preserve to Wendy's car," Shadow said, "I'm not tired or anything, but I've got dirt and blood all over my back and I'd like to at least change my shirt before it gets any worse." He opened the door, headed inside, while Chase caught the screen door, and held it for the other two.

Wendy leaned over the top of the car, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Wait," Sirius said, "you knew?"

"About Harry?" Wendy said, "Not the details. I didn't actually meet any of you before you came back, but I know your reputation as a group. Both as the Potter and Black Clans and as the Pack."

"And you're okay with this?" Remus said.

"Well, duh," Wendy said, "One of my roommates at Salem was a werewolf like them. You forget you're in America; we're a bit more liberal on the magical creatures issue. Now if you don't mind, I have a daughter I need to put to bed, she starts school in the morning." She slid into the car and drove away.

"It's not that big a deal," Chase said, "He's Harry Potter, do you honestly think the kid who blocked the Killing Curse is going to be brought low by a magical virus?"

Remus just raised an eyebrow at him as he guided Harry into the door and Sirius followed, stopping to rest his hand on Chase's shoulder before he stepped inside.

"Why is everyone else in the basement?" Shadow asked as he came downstairs in a clean shirt.

"We put a movie on and locked them in." Sirius said, "After you two went chasing after Harry, we didn't want anyone else to get lost."

Chase shrugged, because he and Shadow had both heard the Alpha howling, even if Remus hadn't. They'd hoped to get to Harry before the Alpha did, but they weren't fast enough. They went into the front room, where Remus was settling Harry on the couch. Harry was twisting and moaning, occasionally rubbing his forehead. His eyes were open, but he was staring at Remus vacantly.

Chase crouched beside the couch, "Do you think it will help if I?" He gestured with his hand, glancing up at Shadow.

"I don't think it would hurt," Shadow said.

Chase reached out and touched Harry's forearm, tapping into that strange ability werewolves had to pull pain from people. Thick black lines raced up his forearm and he yelped at the strength of Harry's pain.

Chase threw himself backwards, staring at Harry, "How is he not _screaming?"_ He said looking from his hand to Harry, then up at Shadow, "You saw that right?"

"I did," Shadow said, leaning over and pressing his hand to Harry's head. The same black lines crawled up his arm, making Shadow grimace, but he held on a bit longer, allowing Harry to fall silent and relax.

"What are you doing?" Sirius demanded.

"Taking his pain," Chase said softly as Shadow pulled his hand away. "It's something werewolves can do. We can't _heal,_ put we can help people stop hurting."

"Do you feel the pain yourself?" Remus asked.

"No," Chase said, "Not _pain,_ exactly. You can feel that you're doing something, and you can feel them react to the pain going away."

Shadow nodded slightly, "We've got a while before Harry finishes his transformation. We should talk about what he's going to be experiencing now."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked anxiously.

"Because it's going to be different for Harry than what Remus has experienced," Shadow said, coming back around the couch and sitting down on a chair. "In some ways, it's going to be easier for him, but in others it will be a _lot_ harder. Take the full moon, it's on Friday. While Remus is probably best off locked in the bunker, we'll be taking Harry into the preserve. It's better for him to run, and it'll give him space to find his anchor."

"Anchor?" Remus asked.

"An anchor is a person, place, or thing that we use to keep anchored in our humanity," Chase said. "It can change as we grow, as cubs it might be our parents, or a phrase that we can focus on. As we get older, our pack, people in the pack, a lover, even emotions can serve as an anchor. Although an emotion isn't recommended, because what if your life changes and you don't feel that emotion the same way anymore?"

"We have to keep control all the time, instead of just on the full moon," Shadow said. "We have stronger instincts than the Cursed, and we can shift at will."

"Shift? Like into a wolf or something?" Sirius said.

"We can do that," Shadow said, "we don't do it much because we don't want people to know."

"I was planning to claim Animagus training," Chase said. "But what Shadow was talking about is what we call our beta form. Here, let me just show you." It was easy to slide into his beta form as he stood up. He was agitated, his instincts were quietly screaming at him to go find the Alpha and drive it off his territory. Sternly, he told that impulse to take a long walk off a short pier and watched as Remus and Sirius reacted to the way his face had altered, with its more pronounced brow ridge, overbite, and sideburns.

Remus slid over and reached out, then pulled his hand back. "It's okay," Chase said, "You can touch. Just mind the sharp edges."

Remus touched his forehead, and then looked him straight in the eye, "Where are your eyebrows?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N BLOOD WARNING! It's kind of gross, but sadly necessary.

* * *

Harry began to scream, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

Viscous, black blood covered Harry's face now and he was half sitting up, wailing and trying to grab his scar. Shadow swore in Spanish, reflecting his luck that nobody in the house seemed to understand what he was saying. He lunched across the room, knocking over both Sirius and Remus on his way to Harry. He had his wand in hand before he touched Harry, and he snapped out a spell for bandages before he'd fully taken in what he was seeing.

It didn't look like the blood was coming out anywhere, Shadow thought, "Chase, his _arms_ if you please," he managed, pleased that he didn't lapse into Spanish this time.

"What's going on?" Chase asked as he carefully pinned Harry's arms. Shadow glanced over and noted that Chase's veins were turning black as Chase pulled pain from Harry. After a moment, Harry stopped screaming again.

"Hold on," Shadow said, "aguamenti." With wet bandages, he began to clean Harry's face. "Not his nose," he muttered, "or his ears. His eyes?"

"His scar?" Sirius said from behind them.

Shadow wiped off Harry's scar, and seconds later, more of the black blood began to ooze out. "Huh," he said.

"What?" Remus asked.

"If he was rejecting, this would be coming out of his orifices," Shadow said. "I don't know why it's just coming out of his scar."

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Blood," Chase said, "can't you smell… he's changing all right."

"What?" Shadow said.

"Stronger already," Chase said, "I can't pull any more pain, he might…"

Harry began to whimper.

"Can I ask," Remus said, "about what you were saying earlier, about history…"

Chase growled and Shadow glanced at his friend. "Werewolf Compromise," Chase said, "it was complete and utter bullshit. The Alpha decided that if history were going to be written by the victors, then we'd be on the winning side. They used a plague outbreak to stage the disappearance of a dozen packs, then led the 'historians' believe that the Curse had destroyed us. Shadow, what's that…?"

Shadow glanced at Harry again and jerked backwards with a yelp.

Harry's scar had split open, with the thick, black blood oozing from it feely around what looked like a black balloon that was emerging from the scar. As Shadow and Chase backed up, the balloon grew to the size of a quaffle before it detached from the scar. It hovered about Harry for an infinite second, and then exploded, coating the room and it's occupants with black blood.

Harry went still.

Silence fell.

Chase bent over and began to throw up. "Chase?" Sirius said.

"In my mouth," Chase said.

"Why'd you have your mouth open?" Shadow said, rolling his eyes.

"What happened?" Harry said, sitting up.

"Well…" Remus began.

"Blood hell!"

Tracy and Blaise stood in the doorway, "What happened?" Tracy demanded.

"The basement," Remus said.

Blaise snorted, "Professor, if you thought a locking charm would keep Tracy somewhere…"

"And you?" Remus asked.

"I'm not letting her out on her own," Blaise said. "She gets into too much trouble when I do."

"You- you-," Tracy sputtered, "you _Hufflepuff."_

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Shadow asked mildly.

Blaise shrugged and Tracy snorted, "Mom doesn't like swearing, and the house is charmed to prevent it." Tracy pulled out her wand, "We learned to be creative. _Scourgify_."

"Interesting," Shadow said, watching the effect of her cleaning spell on the carpet. _"Munda sanguis."_

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"It's the spell for cleaning up black blood," Chase said. "That's what happens when we get poisoned. It's a jab and swish motion." He produced his wand and demonstrated, " _Munda sanguis."_

"Is anyone going to tell me what happened?" Harry demanded.

Shadow glanced at Harry, and then turned back to cleaning one of the chairs.

"Well, Harry," Sirius said hesitantly, "that's a bit complicated."

Harry snorted, "I was mostly awake while Chase and Shadow were talking, and I remember that… that _thing_ in the woods. I just, my scar started to hurt, like when- when Voldemort's around and then suddenly the room's covered in this black… gunk, blood, _whatever,_ and it doesn't hurt."

Shadow focused on his chair, muttering the spell occasionally to encourage the cleaning. He could see Chase working on another chair while Tracy and Blaise were spelling a wall.

"Well," Remus said slowly, "I don't know. Shadow, Chase?"

Shadow glanced up and shook his head, "No sir, Professor. I've never seen anything like that before."

"Nope," Chase said cheerfully, "but isn't that what makes life _fun?_ Now we get to figure it out!"

Shadow glanced at Chase as he finished cleaning the chair, and then turned to some of the carpet, "And he wonders why he's a Ravenclaw," he muttered, " _Munda sanguis."_

"What do you mean by that?" Chase demanded quietly as he started cleaning the drapes.

Shadow sighed, "Because you _like_ learning, and knowledge, and figuring out things. It's why you _hate_ half your professors; you're curious and eager to learn things. Sure, you're hardworking and loyal, and a good beta, everybody knows that, but you're just as much about learning."

Chase shrugged, "Maybe you're right."

"What's wrong with Ravenclaw?" Harry asked, louder than the other two.

"I'm sorry, what?" Remus asked from where he was cleaning Harry's couch.

"You're hearing's getting better," Chase said, "no one was really supposed to hear that."

"It's because he's becoming a werewolf, right?" Tracy said.

Blaise groaned and shook his head.

"What would you know about that?" Sirius asked.

"They were listening in," Chase said, "since we got back, actually."

"We just didn't want to have to explain things a hundred times," Shadow added.

"Can I change the subject?" Harry interjected suddenly, "What happened with that other guy, the, uh, beta? Did you say there wasn't a pack?"

"I don't know," Chase said, "I checked before we left London, but there wasn't anything about a pack here that I could find. Derek Hale, the beta, said the pack here was murdered six years ago, but that doesn't explain what a lone beta and his Alpha were doing out here and how his Alpha was murdered by that guy."

"How can we figure that out?" Harry asked, "I mean, what could kill a pack of werewolves?"

"Hunters," Chase, Shadow, and Remus said in unison.

"Werewolves, cursed or not, are targeted by human groups who call themselves hunters," Remus continued. "Some of them are old families with traditions and codes that they adhere to, and some of them fell into the hunting life and simple murder indiscriminately. Of course, there are people from the old families who find justification to cast aside the code and go on wholesale murder sprees too."

"Sounds like you know something about that," Chase said.

"I did part of my Defense Mastery here in America. My Master was friends with a local werewolf pack, which I now believe was a pack as you know them. Before I could be introduced to them, however, the entire pack was murdered. I don't know who was actually responsible, but there was a Gerard Argent in the area at the time." Remus said.

"Argent, like the French hunters?" Shadow asked, "I have an aunt, not a werewolf, but pack-born, who married into their wizarding clan. It was a bit of a scandal then, but even Uncle Zuzen agrees now that it's done well for us because of the increased communication between us and them."

"Gerard is the nominal patriarch of the American Argents," Remus said, "at least he was back in the mid nineties. He's questionable on his interpretation of the Argent code."

 _"Nous chassons ceux qui nous chaser,"_ Shadow said, "pretentious moral _tonterías."_

"You swear a lot," Harry said.

Shadow snorted, "I'm not at Hogwarts."

"I'm not sure what you're actually saying," Sirius said, "but perhaps you could not swear when we're around."

"Sorry," Shadow said.

"You know what we have to do next right?" Harry said, swinging his legs off the couch. "We have to explain to everyone else what happened. I'm not lying to the Circle."

"You need to take a shower," Remus said.

"You should also try to sleep," Shadow said. "Your body's still reacting to the bite, and sleeping will help you adjust."

"Shadow and I can explain to the others," Chase said. Shadow growled softly and glared at Chase. "Or I'll explain and Shadow can do whatever it is he feels he needs to do."

"After you shower," Harry said, "we look like we're extras in a zombie film."

Shadow shook his head, but Chase laughed. "We really do, don't we?"

"What's a zombie film?" Blaise asked.

Chase and Harry shared a look that Shadow decided meant _wizards._ "We'll find a good one," Harry said, "I've been told that zombie films are _a cultural phenomenon that no thinking being should be deprived of."_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Writing Chase is fun, I'm not sure if I'm conveying my mental image of him fully, but he's fun. I promise, I'm going to move away from moment by moment chapters soon. After all, we have a whole year to cover, right?

* * *

"Harry's a werewolf, but not like Remus, or what we learned in Defense," Hannah said after a moment of silence, looking nervous.

"Right," Chase said as he glanced around the dining room table. Neville looked thoughtful and nervous, Fay looked stunned, Hannah was clearly nervous, and Luna was staring across to the dining room window as if the whole thing bored her. Chase, having had three years to understand Luna, took this to mean that she was listening to everything before she made her decision on how to feel. Tracy and Blaise were in the kitchen, Chase could hear them talking softly about the werewolves as they did the dishes, and Harry and Shadow were upstairs. Shadow was talking Harry through some basic calming exercises before they joined everyone else. Sirius and Remus were also upstairs, but since they had silenced their room, Chase couldn't hear what they were up to, thankfully.

"And you and Shadow are the same kind of werewolf," Neville said finally, "except you were born a werewolf and Shadow was bitten."

"Right," Chase said.

"Now what?" Fay asked.

"What?" Neville said.

"Now what," Fay said, "I mean, do we need to paint ourselves blue and hop on one foot to keep him from biting us? Do we have to avoid the letter 'q'?"

Chase chuckled, "Nope. Just try to keep from getting Harry angry until we get him sorted out. And yes, Shadow and I know what we're doing. We both had to _learn_ control and we've both helped others learn it too. My experience is with the younger 'wolves of my Pack, and Shadow's Pack inducted three bitten wolves that he's worked with."

"Will that be enough?" Luna asked, glancing at Chase for a moment before looking back out the window.

"Every Pack has different ways to teach control," Shadow said as he walked into the dining room, "we'll try our methods, and ask Hale if he has some suggestions if necessary."

Chase winced, "I hadn't actually gotten to that point yet, Big Bad."

"Who is Derek?" Hannah asked.

"Derek is a beta werewolf we met last night," Chase said, listening as Shadow and Harry began to come down the stairs, talking quietly. "The Alpha that bit Harry had killed his Alpha so he was hunting it. Since the Alpha bit Harry and that other kid, well, it's safe to say that this is…"

"Another typical year in the life of Harry fucking Potter," Harry announced, making everyone but Chase jump.

"How are you feeling?" Neville asked.

"Like I went three rounds with Padfoot and Moony," Harry said with a slight grin. "If this is what a hangover feels like, I'm never drinking."

"Problem solved, you can't get drunk," Shadow said, "You'll metabolize it too quickly."

"Damn," Harry said, snapping his fingers. "Guess that's off the list."

"Really though," Neville said, "Are you okay?"

Harry hesitated, not really looking at any of them. "I'm _angry._ I didn't ask for this, or want it; a murderer forced it on me. My life has just completely changed everything I thought I knew is completely different than I ever thought it could be." Now he looked up, twisting slightly to look at Shadow, then Chase, and around the table, "The thing is, this isn't the first time that's happened to me. When I was eleven, I got a letter addressed to me and I went from Harry, the unwanted nephew of Petunia Dursley to Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, with magic and magical creatures, and fame given to me by a murderer. To a lesser extent, I've experienced that every couple of months ever since, from dealing with the Troll and Quirrell to being a Parselmouth, Riddle's diary, and the Basilisk, not to mention learning about Padfoot and Moony and the Triwizard Tournament. I've learned a lot about coping when life flips upside down, so I can handle this. I just have to keep reminding myself that I can get through this."

"Question, if you're angry, shouldn't you…" Fay said.

Harry held up his hand, displaying a metal cuff. "Occlumency training tool, helps me keep my emotions in check so that I can learn to protect my mind. Of course, Shadow was saying I'm protected from mind readers unless they know the differences between a werewolf and a human, but the emotional control helps."

"It's good for a temporary fix," Shadow said, "not one I've seen before, but as it seems to be working, we'll put it on the list of useful tools."

Chase heard a door open upstairs, "Sirius and Remus are coming," he said.

Harry tilted his head, "I couldn't hear them before, but I can now."

"Silencing charms," Chase and Shadow said. Chase stared at the table, unwilling to look at anyone as his cheeks turned a brilliant red.

"You could hear them?" Harry said.

"That first night…" Chase began.

"I let them know they could be heard before they started anything," Shadow said. "Even if we were the only ones who could hear them talking, I doubt we would have been the only ones to hear the rest of it."

"Thank you," Neville said, sounding strangled.

"You're welcome," Shadow said.

"Is everyone in here?" Remus asked as he came in the door.

"Tracy and Blaise are still doing the dishes," Harry said. "I think they're almost done though."

"They needed two people to load the dishwasher?" Remus asked.

"Well," Chase said slowly, "there was a… accident with the pancakes." He grinned brightly at Remus, "Blaise got it all off the ceiling though, promise."

"The ceiling," Remus said, "no, don't tell me. As long as it's all cleaned up, I don't want to know."

"Professor Lupin, would you and Rialóir Black like some breakfast? We saved some pancakes and sausage for you." Tracy asked, leaning in through the kitchen archway.

"Yes please," Remus said, "and it's still Remus, Tracy."

"And Sirius," Sirius called from the front of the house.

"Sorry, Prof, I mean Remus," Tracy said, and vanished back into the kitchen.

Moments later, she and Blaise appeared with a tray with the left over pancakes and sausage on it, now steaming hot. Sirius joined them a moment later, "That smells delicious."

"Thanks," Chase said, "my mom taught me how to make them."

"Now," Remus said as he sat down beside Fay, "we do need to have a talk about how things are going to go this year, besides Harry's werewolf training. Now, some things were set up for us to use over the course of the year, including tutors to make sure you'll be ready for your OWLs."

"Is there a schedule set up for them?" Harry asked.

"Not at the moment," Remus said, "but the tutors are all willing to work with us however we chose. Wendy said that our counterpoints hired people who would work with us, regardless of what might happen. I called her this morning and she confirmed that it included the werewolves amongst us."

Chase glanced at the group, "I'm willing to go along with the majority vote, Remus, but I was hoping to see if I couldn't track down Derek Hale today as well. May I go?"

Remus eyed him for a moment, then glanced at the group, "Does anybody mind if Chase leaves?" Everyone indicated no in their preferred manner. "All right, Chase, be back before dark."

"Thanks," Chase said. He headed for the back yard, pulling his shirt off as he went. He paused in the mudroom to leave his sweatpants and t-shirt behind, leaving him in a pair of skintight shorts. Then he stepped outside, rolled his shoulders and lunged forward, flowing into the form of the wolf.

In his Pack, the ability to shift fully into a wolf was the sign that you'd achieved total control over your body, mind, and soul. While his sister who wasn't a Witch had taken until she was thirteen, Chase had been pushed hard to manage the shift by his tenth birthday. If he had been unable to shift, he would never have gone to Hogwarts.

Achieving the shift had been the most amazing experience in Chase's life, in some ways, he felt more at home in his lanky, grey furred form over his two-legger form. Now, Chase bounded across the backyard and leaped the back fence by the gate Harry had run out of the night before. It was the work of a moment for Chase to locate Harry's scent and he was off, heading through the forest, backtracking Harry.

Even with the detours around trees and bushes, Chase had to admit he was impressed; Harry had managed to run at least two miles after he'd lost his temper at Sirius and Shadow had been caught in the backlash.

Finally, Chase leaped the incline Harry had fallen down and landed lightly where he'd been the night before, facing a mad Alpha. He cast around slowly, looking for signs that would lead him to Derek Hale.

"Looking for something?"

Chase looked up, then shifted back, "Mister Hale. I'm Chase Travers, we met last night."

"I remember," Hale said.

"I came out here to ask if you needed anything," Chase said. "Harry survived; Shadow and I can handle his training, but that Alpha."

"He'll want his betas," Derek said shortly. "And yes, the kid survived. His name is Scott McCall."

Chase nodded, "All right." He hesitated, eyeing Derek. Some old werewolf families passed on the knowledge of the magical world even if they didn't throw any kids of their own. "Have you ever heard of the Golden Gate Academy?"

"I have," Derek said, "my cousin studied there."

Chase took a deep breath, "All right, do you know the full name of it though?"

"Golden Gate Magical Academy," Derek said.

"Okay, Harry, Shadow, and I are Wolf-Wizards," Chase said, "we came here, to America in general and Beacon Hills specifically, to study some specific magic this year. While that has to take priority, Shadow and I are agreed that if you need help, we'll help, since we are both trained, if young. Harry, well, if I've learned nothing in the past four and a half years, I've learned that if Harry things a fight is worth fighting, he'll lead the charge, no matter what's at the other end."

Crashing noises cut off whatever Derek was going to say and they both turned to look behind Derek.

"I can smell so much," a young man was saying, "things I shouldn't be able to smell."

"Yeah?" A second, young male said, "Like what?"

"Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket."

"I don't-"

"I told you. Look around, this is where I dropped my inhaler."

"And you found the body here too?"

"Yeah, but I'm worried about the inhaler, those things cost sixty bucks, and my mom will _kill_ me if I lost one being stupid."

Derek jumped softly out of the ravine and Chase followed him, while Derek stood tall, Chase ducked behind some bushes, not wanting to explain to a couple of civilians why he was wandering barefoot in a pair of skintight shorts. Kicking around the dead leaves on the other side was a pair of teenagers about Chase's age. One had a buzz cut and moles, the other had dark brown hair and a crooked jaw line.

"This is private property," Derek said pointedly.

Chase scented the breeze and realized that the kid with the jaw was a Beta.

"Sorry," the guy said, "we got turned around last night and I lost my inhaler."

Derek held it up, "You mean this? Better be careful out here at night, lots of wild animals."

"Yeah, thanks," the kid said. He caught it when Derek tossed it to him. "We'll be going then."

Chase moved, wanting to stop, to ask them questions, but Derek glared at him.

"Who's that?" The kid with the moles said.

Chase glanced over, hoping he didn't mean him. Sure enough, the kid was staring at him through the bushes. He considered his options and stood up, "Hi."

"Is there a reason you're standing naked in the bushes?" The kid asked.

"I'm not naked, and I forgot my invisibility cloak." Chase said, He considered his options, reading the teen's eager curiosity and his friend's uncertainty. He glanced at Derek, who nodded slightly. "Scott McCall?"

"Yes?" The kid with the uneven jaw line asked startled.

"Do you remember what happened to you last night?" Chase asked.

"Something bit me, but I didn't get a good look at it. I passed or something, because I woke up in my bed this morning with a nasty bite on my side," Scott replied.

"Have you looked at it?" Chase asked.

"What?" Scott said.

"Have you looked at it this afternoon." Chase said.

"No," Scott said, he pulled his shirt up to reveal the bloody bandage.

"Take the bandage off," Chase said.

"What- why?" Scott said.

"I'm proving a point, take the bandage off," Chase said. Scott peeled the bandage off to reveal unblemished skin with a few blood smears on it. "Congratulations," Chase said, rocking from his heels to his toes, "You aren't dying today."

"But, how?" Scott said, "It was as big as my hand!"

"Dude," his friend said.

"Well," Chase said, "I can give you the good news, the news of indeterminate value, or the bad news, which do you want first?"

"How about your name," the other kid said.

"Crap," Chase said, "I'm sorry, I forgot. Boarding school, everybody knows your name. I'm Chase Travers. This is Derek Hale, and you are?"

"Stiles Stilinski," Stiles said.

"Right," Chase said, "Pleased to meet you, mate. Now, McCall, good, bad or indeterminate."

"How about indeterminate," Scott said.

"You're a werewolf."

"Excuse me?" Scott said.

"You're joking, right?" Stiles asked, "You think Scott's the Wolfman or something?"

"I preferred _An American Werewolf in London_ from your side of the Pond, actually," Chase said, "but I meant an honest to God, howl at the moon, fur, fang, and claw werewolf."

"But werewolves aren't real," Scott said.

"Sure they are," Chase said, "allow me to provide you with incontrovertible proof." He lunged for Scott, bounding up to him in his wolf form. He darted around Scott and then Stiles before leaping over to sit beside Derek.

"That's a wolf, isn't it," Scott said, looking at Stiles.

Chase grinned at them, his tail thumping against Derek's leg. "It's something that werewolves can do," Derek said quietly. "When you've learned control, you can become a wolf."

"Can you do that?" Stiles asked.

"I'm not going to," Derek said shortly.

"Why not?" Stiles said.

"Because there is no good explanation for a man in his twenties to be striping in the woods with three teenagers," Derek said.

Chase changed back, moving away from Derek, "The good news is, you won't actually need that inhaler anymore. Being a werewolf can take care of many chronic conditions. My partner, Shadow, he had a disease that would have left him immobilized, but with a completely active mind before his grandfather gave him the bite." He glanced at Derek, "Speaking of, some weird stuff happened with Harry last night, I was hoping for a second, or third, opinion on the matter."

Derek nodded.

A wolf's howl echoed through the forest and Chase rolled his eyes. "Apparently, I've been gone too long. That's Shadow calling me back. Derek, I'll see you around sometime." Chase nodded at Scott and Stiles, "Good luck, you two." He turned and shifted again, racing back through the woods for the house.


	4. Chapter 4

"All right," Wendy said as she slid a green, plastic box on the dining table, "Chris sent over some movies he thought you might enjoy."

"Is he going to come over," Harry asked as he leaned against the table.

"Not yet," Wendy said, "he's in the middle of a recording project at the moment, and he'll come when he's done. Instead, he sent this." She popped open the box and pulled out a slim flat case, holding it up for Harry's inspection.

 _THE LION KING._

Harry grinned, "Yes! We're watching that. No questions asked. I have- I have to get _everyone,_ especially Padfoot. Can you- would you set it up? I can work VHS, but that's not VHS."

"DVD," Wendy said, "digital video device, or something like that. Sure, I'll set it up in the basement. But this isn't just one, it's got both of them."

"Both?" Harry asked, eyes lightening.

"Yeah, it has the sequel, about Simba's daughter." Wendy said.

Harry knew Wendy was probably laughing at him but he couldn't help it, "Great. I'm going to get everyone."

"I'll meet you in the basement," Wendy said.

Harry lunged away from the table. He knew Remus was in the study, but Sirius was in their room, and that was a perfect starting point. He skidded in the hallway and raced up the stairs, darting around Hannah on the way.

"Sorry Hannah," He said, turning at the top of the stairs, "Movie night in the basement. Be there or be square."

"Sure Harry," Hannah called with a laugh.

Harry skidded down the hallway, catching the edge of Blaise's room. He stuck his head in, "Hey, movie night downstairs. You have to see this movie, it's incredible. Please?"

Blaise and Tracy were sitting on the window seat, book open between them. They were both clearly startled as Harry leaned in. They exchanged glances, and Tracy shut the book, "Sure, what are we watching?"

"The Lion King," Harry said, "it's awesome, amazing, worth watching, about lions, not Gryffindors, I promise." He paused, "I promise, you'll like it."

Blaise chuckled, "We'll give it a shot, Harry."

Harry grinned, "Thanks." He shoved away from Blaise's door and finished his run down the hallway with a slid, slipping into Sirius and Remus's room with his arms outstretched. "Padfoot! Movie night. No is not allowed."

Sirius looked up from his book and smiled, "Movie night, huh? You're excited."

"Chris sent movies, Chris sent the _best_ movie. You have to see this movie," Harry said bouncing from foot to foot. He hesitated a moment, "Please?"

Sirius nodded, "Sure, I'll watch."

"Great," Harry said, "Can you get Remus out of the study? I got to get Chase and Shadow." He turned and headed for the door. Neville was in the hall, "Nev!" Harry said, trying to stop and only sliding down the hall past his roommate.

"Movie night?" Neville asked.

"Yes," Harry said, "best movie ever. Gotta go!" He spun and raced for the stairs, hopping up to slid down the banister in defiance of Remus's carefully crafted house rules. He landed easily, feeling as he automatically compensated where before he would have landed in a graceless heap. Instead, he was racing for the back door in seconds, heading to where Chase and Shadow had been working with him on achieving his beta shift on command.

He found Chase and Shadow packing up the collection of balls that Harry privately called the torture collection. "Movie night," he caroled as he jammed his feet into his trainers. "My friend Chris sent movies. You have to see this movie, we have time before dinner." Harry jumped off the steps and caught the tennis ball Chase through at him, "Maybe Remus will let us order pizza."

Chase grinned at him, "You're excited."

"I really am," Harry said. "Chris and his parents took me to see The Lion King in theaters last summer. It was the first movie I saw in the cinema."

"The Lion King?" Chase said, "Sounds like a Gryffindor sort of movie."

"It kind of is, but not really," Harry said. "Please come watch?"

"Sure," Chase said, "Shadow?"

"Claws," Shadow said, "and I'll go."

Harry wrinkled his nose at Shadow and glanced down at his hand for a moment, closed his eyes, made a fist and slammed his fingers out, willing them to change, to create the claws that waited beneath the surface. He peeked an eye open and whooped with joy at the sight of werewolf claws. "I did it!"

"And that's one for me," Shadow said, "cheering charms push the shift."

"Yeah, yeah," Chase said, "it worked. Are you sure you're thinking of the Lion King? Isn't that some tragedy or something?"

"It's Hakuna Matata," Harry said.

"It's what?" Shadow asked.

"Hakuna Matata," Harry replied, "it's the motto."

"The motto?" Shadow asked.

"Nothing, what's the motto with you," Harry replied.

"Oooo-kaaay," Chase said slowly, "cheering charms may not be the best tool for this."

"What? Why?" Harry asked. "I'm fine. Perfect, actually. Are you packed up? Ready to go in?"

"It's like if someone gave a squirrel peanut butter," Shadow said softly. "Yeah Harry, let's go in."

Harry grabbed the bag of golf balls and raced inside, pausing to leave his shoes and the bag in the mudroom before bursting into the kitchen. "Remus! Can we have pizza? Please? I'll make a salad to go with it."

Remus, in the middle of pouring water for tea, actually jumped. "Harry?"

"Sorry," Chase said, "Shadow hit him with a cheering charm."

"Why?" Remus asked carefully as he began to mop up the spilled water.

"Helps with deliberate shifting," Shadow said as he followed Chase. "I didn't- this was not- shouldn't he just be happy?"

"I am happy," Harry said. "I need to go find LUNA." He raced from the kitchen and shouted the last word over his shoulder.

The Ravenclaw had a tendency to curl up in the attic's dormer window, Harry knew, and he raced up to find her. As he swung into the narrow stairs that lead up, he realized that the momentary high he'd been riding was starting to fade and he sighed. It was nice to be unreservedly happy, to just let himself go and do things like slide the bannister and slip around on his socks. There was an unexpected freedom in just doing what felt good for a moment. He bounced into the attic, "Hi Luna," he called as he headed across the mostly bare room.

"Hi Harry," Luna said, looking up from her book.

"Good book?" Harry asked as he settled on one of the chairs that had been sent up to the attic after their arrival.

"Interesting," Luna said, "it's a muggle zoology book that Ms. Wendy gave me."

"She's great," Harry said, and coughed, "Sorry, cheering charm. It's wearing off though."

"Was it nice?" Luna asked, "Sometimes Grinning Grimps can bite you and make those charms act odd. From the sound of you shouting and running."

"Something like that," Harry said with a shrug. "We're doing a movie night, The Lion King, possibly with pizza. Will you come?"

"Sure Harry," Luna said and closed her book.

Harry stood up and offered Luna his hand, "Fair warning, his dad dies. It's sad and horrible."

"I've seen The Lion King," Luna said. "Like you said, Hakuna Matata."

"What a wonderful phrase," Harry said. "Hakuna Matata."

"Ain't no passing craze," Luna sang brightly.

They started down the stairs, singing together.

 _"It means no worries,_

 _For the rest of your days_

 _It's our problem free, philosophy."_

Harry hesitated at seeing Blaise and Tracy in the hall, then grinned as he switched songs, squeezing Luna's hand in warning.

 _"I'm gonna be a mighty king,_

 _So enemies beware."_

 _"Well I've never seen a king of beasts_

 _With quite so little hair."_

Luna picked up her line gleefully, reaching over to tug on one of his twists lightly. Harry caught her hand gently and then danced away.

 _"I'm going to be the mane even_

 _Like no King was before,_

 _I'm brushing up on looking down_

 _I'm working on my ROAR."_

Harry let his naturally rough roar undercoat his voice, turning the word into _more._

 _"Thus far a rather uninspiring thing,"_ Luna cut in, winking at him before she trotted down the stairs.

Harry paused on the top stair, throwing his hands outward, _"I just can't wait to be king!"_

"Harry, what do you want on your pizza?" Remus called.

Harry jumped and started down the stairs, "Meat!" He called back.

"Besides that?"

"Cheese!" Harry said.

"Anything else?" Remus asked, sticking his head out the door.

"That tomato sauce stuff? I dunno," Harry said. "Am I making the salad?"

"Kitchen is yours," Remus said.

Harry grinned, "Thanks, Moony."

/././.\\.\\.\

"Potter, I will end you," Tracy announced as the credits rolled.

"You didn't like it?" Harry asked.

"He _died._ " Tracy said, "He just, how could you, why didn't you _warn_ us?"

"Because it's an amazing cartoon that you wouldn't have watched?" Harry said, he bounced off his beanbag chair, "We can watch the next one too, right?"

"Is it going to be happy?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know," Harry said, "I've never seen it."

"Then no," Blaise said.

"But," Harry said, "It's _Disney."_

There was a silence for a moment, then Shadow snorted and Chase started laughing.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Addams' Family Values," Shadow said.

Harry frowned, "I don't know that one."

"We'll watch it someday," Chase said, then snickered.

"May I suggest something," Wendy offered as she came downstairs. "Lake Placid. You'll like it Harry."

"Is it a retelling of a Shakespearean play with fish?" Luna asked.

"What?" Harry asked, hearing Neville, Chase, and Sirius echoing him.

"It was Hamlet," Remus said, "with lions."

"Because everything's better with lions," Harry said.

"No, no lions, or talking animals," Wendy said, "but we can watch a movie about fish. There's Finding Nemo, Jaws-"

"NO!" Chase yelped, surging to his feet and knocking Shadow off their shared beanbag chair. "No, hell no, not Jaws. We do not need a bigger fucking boat tonight."

"All right," Wendy said.

"What's Lake Placid?" Sirius asked.

"It's about giant, fresh water crocodiles," Wendy said. "It's good, an action adventure."

"All right," Sirius said. "I'm in."

"Okay," Harry said.

"I'll put it on, then I have to leave. Remember, you've got your singing instructor coming by for evaluation tomorrow at ten," Wendy said. "I'll be here at eleven, I have to go to the doctor."

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked.

Wendy smiled, "I'll be fine Harry, I promise."

Harry dragged his chair closer to Chase and Shadow and settled in as Wendy started the movie.

/././.\\.\\.\

"Can I borrow a quill, Harry?"

"Is this the man who died?"

"Damn it Harry!"

"Is this the man who died?"

"Again?"

"Is this the man who died?"

"Fine, he seemed taller."

"Here's your friend."

"Thanks ever so much. Where's my pen knife?"

"Is this the man who died?"

"I am going to rip your throat out. With my teeth."

* * *

A/N: Alright so. First, I do not own Disney, Hakuna Matata, I Just Can't Wait To Be King, Jaws, Addams Family Values, or Lake Placid.

Second, STORY TIME:

As a sophomore in high school, I had two friends. On the night I officially adopted my second friend, we were having a sleep over at the other friend's house, and we drank way too many off-brand Dr Peppers and were acting like we were drunk, so we decided to watch Lake Placid. For _weeks_ afterwards, we were quoting the scene above to each other. That or The Mummy's "I Am A Librarian" speech. I don't know what they put in that off-brand Dr Pepper, but it was awesome.

That, plus my random decision that Harry saw the Lion King in theaters and just fell in love with it and had to see Lion King 2 and was really hyper about it. Then I had to figure out why he was hyper, and that just led to fun stuff.


End file.
